The present invention relates to an automatic analysis apparatus and an automatic analysis method and, more particularly to an automatic analysis apparatus and an automatic analysis method for analyzing analysis items of biological fluid samples such as blood samples, urine samples or the like.
The automatic analysis apparatus for analyzing biological fluid samples is generally constructed So as to analyze various kinds of analysis items, and measures a reaction product produced by reaction between the sample and a reagent in a measuring part. When data of measured result of a sample shows an abnormal value, re-analysis is automatically performed on the identical sample. In order to position a sample container containing a sample at a sample sampling position, there are a method that the sample container is placed on a turntable and the turntable is moved, and a method that the sample container is held in a rack and the rack is moved using a belt conveyer or the like.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-66461 discloses an automatic analysis apparatus which uses a movable rack for moving sample containers and has a function of re-analyzing samples. In the prior art, a first conveyer lane is disposed between a rack supply portion and a rack standby portion, and two analysis portions each having a reaction disk are disposed along the first conveyer lane, and a sample is pipetted to a reaction container in a reaction disk at a sample sampling position on the first conveyer lane. A second-conveyer lane for re-analysis is arranged in parallel with the first conveyer lane. The standby portion has a reciprocally movable rack transfer table, and receives a rack finished sample sampling from the routine first conveyer lane to hold the rack on the rack transport table until an analysis result of the sampled sample is identified. The rack holding the sample required to be re-analyzed is transferred from the standby portion to the second conveyer lane to be sampled the sample for reanalysis from the rack.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2245665 discloses an automatic analysis apparatus which uses a turntable for moving sample containers and is capable of performing re-analysis. The prior art shows an example of an immunity analysis apparatus for inducing an antigen-antibody reaction (immuno-reaction) using a solid carrier. A sample pipetter device having a rotating arm has a pair of disposable tips. At a first analysis, a sample is sucked from a sample container on a sample table into the pair of the disposable tips, and the sample in one of the pair of tips is discharged into a reaction container in a reaction disk to be analyzed. Necessity of a second analysis is judged after the first analysis. If re-analyzing is necessary, the sample contained in the other of the pair of tips is discharged into a reaction container to perform the second analysis.
A ratio of necessity for re-analysis by judgment from a first analysis result to each of analysis items of a sample is approximately 5% of the total. Although most of samples are not necessary to be re-analyzed as described above, it is highly necessary to provide an automatic analysis apparatus with a re-analyzing function. Particularly, in a case of an urgent sample for which an analysis result must be urgently obtained, it is also required to urgently obtain a re-analysis result.
In the case of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2-66461 described above, the rack holding the plurality of sample containers is made stand by on the rack transport table in the standby portion until first analysis results for all the samples on the rack are obtained. Further, if there is only one sample judged necessary to be re-analyzed among the plurality of samples on the rack, the samples not necessary to be re-analyzed must be transferred on the returning second conveyer lane by being held on the rack together with the sample judged necessary to be re-analyzed. Accordingly, the apparatus requires a complex mechanism unit and an area to keep the rack in standby and to transfer it back.
On the other hand, in the case of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2-245665, the tips having a special shape are necessary, and the sample pipetter device holding the disposable tip for second analysis is occupied until the first analysis result is obtained. Therefore, the efficiency of processing is extremely decreased because the sample pipetter device can not be used to pipette the other samples during that period.
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analysis apparatus and an automatic analysis method which can perform re-analysis without keeping a sample container after sampling a sample for a first analysis at a standby portion until a result of the first analysis of the sample is obtained.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analysis apparatus and an automatic analysis method which can perform re-analysis without occupying a sample pipetter device by a sample until a result of a first analysis in regard to the sampled sample is obtained.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analysis apparatus and an automatic analysis method which can be perform re-analysis without necessity of a special position for keeping a sample container after sampling a sample for a first analysis until a result of the first analysis of the sample is obtained or without necessity of adding a special container.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analysis apparatus having a plurality of analysis units which can perform re-analysis of a sample by an analysis unit used first even if a sample container finishing sampling of the sample for the analysis unit used first is transferred to an analysis unit used next before an analysis result of the sample by the analysis unit used first is not obtained yet.
An automatic analysis apparatus which the present invention is applied to comprises a sample transfer device for positioning a sample container containing a sample at a sample sampling position; a reaction disk having a plurality of reaction containers arranged on it; and a pipetter device for pipetting a sample to be analyzed into the reaction container on the reaction disk, and performs operation of analyzing the sampled sample sampled in the reaction container on the reaction disk. The sample container transfer device used may be a rotary type such as a turntable or a type transferring the sample containers on a transfer line by holding them in a rack. There are provided one or more than two analysis units having the reaction disk. In a case where two or more of the analysis units are provided, the sample pipetter devices are respectively provided corresponding to the analysis units.
A concept of the present invention is that an automatic analysis apparatus comprises a control unit for controlling motion of the sample pipetter device so that the sample pipetter device pipettes a backup sample from the sample container at the sample sampling position into one reaction container on the reaction disk when the sample to be analyzed is pipetted, and manages the one reaction container so as to hold the backup sample in the one reaction container until a first analysis result in regard to the sample to be analyzed is obtained, and controls motion of the sample pipetter device to pipette part of the backup sample in the one reaction container into another reaction container based on a judgment that re-analysis to the first analysis result is necessary.
In the automatic analysis apparatus, it is preferable that during operation of analysis in regard to the samples to be analyzed pipetted into the reaction containers, the backup sample in the one reaction container is diluted by mixing with a diluent to obtain a sample diluted in a predetermined ratio (a diluted sample) in order to prepare sample sampling for re-analysis.
Another concept of the present invention is that an automatic analysis apparatus is constructed so that in a case where the sample in the sample container positioned at the sample sampling position to be pipetted is an urgent sample, a backup sample is pipetted from the sample container at the sample sampling position into one reaction container on the reaction disk when the sample to be analyzed is pipetted, and it is judged whether or not a first analysis result in regard to the sampled sample to be analyzed requires to be re-analyzed, and the backup sample is pipetted from the one reaction container into another reaction container on the reaction disk if the re-analysis is required, and then analysis operation of the re-analysis to the sample pipetted in the another reaction container is performed.
In a case where the automatic analysis apparatus comprises a plurality of analysis units, pipetting motion of the backup sample may be stopped when an amount of the sample contained in the sample container before sampling is smaller than a sum of an amount of the sample necessary for the plurality of analysis units and an amount of the backup sample.
A further concept of the present invention is that an automatic analysis apparatus comprising a plurality of analysis units and a sample container transfer mechanism capable of positioning the sample container containing the sample at a sample sampling position provided corresponding to each of the analysis units, wherein the plurality of analysis units include at least an immune item analysis unit and a biochemical item analysis unit; a sample container containing a specific sample requiring analyses by both of the immune item analysis unit and the biochemical item analysis unit being positioned at the sample sampling position for the immune item analysis unit before being positioned at the sample sampling position for the biochemical item analysis unit; at the immune item analysis unit, the corresponding sample pipetter device pipetting a backup sample from the sample container at the sample sampling position into the reaction container on the reaction disk of the immune item analysis unit when the sample to be analyzed is pipetted; the sample for the re-analysis being pipetted from the reaction container containing the backup sample into another reaction container on the reaction disk of the immune item analysis unit when a first analysis result in regard to the sample to be analyzed of the immune item analysis unit requires re-analysis.